WSP and Sydney Olympic Park Authority: Evolving the Olympic Legacy

WSP has collaborated with Sydney Olympic Park Authority for over 30 years-planning the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games and now delivering Master Plan 2050. This long-term vision adds homes, green spaces, and sustainable transport while reimagining Olympic venues and parklands to create vibrant, connected communities.

Location

Sydney, Australia

Client

Sydney Olympic Park Authority

Project Status

Ongoing

As trusted advisor to Sydney Olympic Park Authority for 32 years and counting, we’re part of an extraordinary journey that planned and delivered the Olympic and Paralympic Games, created an evolving legacy, and is now providing a unique place for people to live, work and play.

It all began in 1992, when our multidisciplinary experts helped to design and deliver Sydney Olympic Park for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympic Games – the first time the two events were inclusively coordinated.

Since then, the area has become one of Sydney’s go-to suburbs for local people. It also hosts over 10 million visitors a year, drawn by some of the world’s biggest names in live music, sport and culture. But as Sydney’s needs change, the Park’s Olympic legacy is evolving too.

Master plan 2050

We’re supercharging the Park’s Olympic legacy with a long-term development plan focused on sustainable growth. Co-created with thousands of local people, Master Plan 2050 will provide up to 13,000 more homes to tackle Sydney’s housing crisis, including affordable homes for keyworkers.

Vivienne Albin, Director of Urban Renewal and Environment at Sydney Olympic Park Authority is a Sydneysider who experienced the magic of the 2000 Games first-hand, so she knows what the area means to local people.

“Sydney Olympic Park has always been a vibrant, living community and now we’re shaping its future for the next generation. To create a place that feels like home, whether you visit once in a lifetime or live here every day."

Master Plan 2050 will add the infrastructure, facilities and spaces needed to nurture, healthier, more connected communities. From jobs, schools and childcare, to retail, leisure and public transport connecting people to Greater Sydney.

Olympic-scale spaces will be reimagined as distinct neighbourhoods, precincts, and parklands – each with their own unique character and purpose. Vibrant residential neighbourhoods designed around green spaces and a lively urban centre. Versatile precincts supporting all kinds of events, activities and visitors. 430 hectares of existing parklands integrated into the community to support biodiversity, health and wellbeing, alongside new playgrounds and sports fields. All within easy reach of residents.

A place for people

As new homes are created, the Park’s residential community is set to soar from around 5,000 to 30,000 people. One of the biggest challenges will be the complexity of hosting regular and major events and an influx of visitors, while making sure local people benefit and disruption is minimised.

As part of Master Plan 2050, new metro and light rail infrastructure is being added to improve public transport, pedestrians and cyclists are being prioritized, and road closures minimized. Reducing car dependency to create a car lite community, with the metro able to move 35,000 people an hour in each direction. Event transport plans are also evolving – to make sure everyone can use public transport seamlessly. Existing car and coach parks are being repurposed for housing, complete with new walking and cycling routes.

Sport will always be at the heart of Sydney Olympic Park – from rugby league, cricket and tennis, to skateboarding, surfing and BMX. As well as hosting elite events and around 60 local and national sporting organisations, Master Plan 2050 reimagines former Olympic venues and facilities for everyone, every day. Nurturing new generations of talent while encouraging local people to stay active and enjoy the facilities.

The Olympics' new norm

25 years on from Sydney 2000, our journey to Master Plan 2050 is helping to guide and inspire future Olympic cities like Brisbane, host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Olympic legacies are shifting from large-scale stadiums built solely for the Games, to adapting existing venues and infrastructure to provide sustainable, community-focused benefits. Master Plan 2050 shows how host cities can accelerate positive impacts by bringing sport, culture and community together, embracing local attributes such as parklands and public transport, and enhancing neighbourhoods to grow thriving communities.

Vivienne concludes: “Co-creating Master Plan 2050 with thousands of local people has been one of the most rewarding parts of the process. Their voices are helping to shape every part of the Park’s evolution. It’s very exciting to be on the verge of creating a new chapter for an historic site rooted in local identity and our collective vision for the future, as well as an inclusive Olympic legacy we’re still very proud of.”

Meet the visioneers

Graeme Steverson, Technical Director, Planning and Mobility has been technical advisor to the Sydney Olympic Park Authority for over 25 years. He’s also worked on six Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Olympic legacy isn’t a one-off action, but a dynamic, evolving process. It must be planned from the beginning, not as an afterthought, focused on local communities, cultures and the environment."

“Sydney 2000 helped transform an industrial wasteland into an iconic, inclusive Olympic and Paralympic Games and now the same spirit of innovation and experimentation is transforming Sydney Olympic Park into a place championing the needs of local people.”